Congratulations to the Class of 2015 Gates Millennium Scholars. Click the links below to access the press release and the list of the Class of 2015 Gates Millennium Scholars (one list is ordered by home state and the other list is ordered by the Scholars last name)

Be Citizens, legal permanent residents or nationals of the United States;

Have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on an unweighted 4.0 scale or earned a GED;

Have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities;

Meet Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria;

Enroll for the first time at a U.S. located , accredited college or university (with the exception of students concurrently pursuing a high school diploma) in the fall as a full-time, degree seeking, first year student;

Have completed and submitted their application by the deadline; and

Have the following forms completed and submitted by the deadline on their behalf:

A Nominator Form-an evaluation of the student's academic record, and;

A Recommender Form- an evaluation of the student's community service and leadership activities.

The deadline for applications for the next class of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program will
be January 13, 2016.****

Listen to the GMS Class of 2013 stories of Nana Amoah (Starrs Mill High School in Fayetteville, GA) and Alec Lepe (North Salinas High School in Salinas, CA).

Please always refer to this site for official GMS information and timelines (including the application deadline).

If you are willing to serve as anominator or recommender for deserving students, you can make a difference in their lives.

The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential by:

Reducing financial barriers for African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students with high academic and leadership promise who have significant financial need;

Increasing the representation of these target groups in the disciplines of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health and the sciences, where these groups are severely underrepresented;

Developing a diversified cadre of future leaders for America by facilitating successful completion of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees; and

Providing seamless support from undergraduate through doctoral programs, for students selected as Gates Millennium Scholars entering target disciplines.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program, established in 1999, was initially funded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The GMS Scholarship Award Provides:

Support for the cost of education by covering unmet need and self-help aid;

Graduate school funding for continuing Gates Millennium Scholars in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science;

Leadership development programs with distinctive personal, academic and professional growth opportunities.

Program Accomplishment:

Funding more than 17,000 Gates Millennium Scholars since the inception of the program

GMS has awarded over $845,713,056 in scholarships between the 2000-2014 academic years

The average award was $12,492 between the 2001-2014 academic years

The average first-year undergraduate student retention rate is 97.9% among Gates Scholars; the average second-year rate is 96%

The GMS five-year graduation rate is 82.8% and the six-year graduation rate is over 87.8%

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Gates Millennium Scholars transition into graduate school; 14% into a GMS-funded field and 14% into GMS-unfunded fields

Gates Millennium Scholars enrolled in over than 1,865 colleges and universities

Over 11,170 Gates Millennium Scholars completed a degree since the program's inception

Administration:

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) administers the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program. To reach, coordinate and support the constituent groups, UNCF has partnered with the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund to assist in implementing the program.

Yolanda Zepeda, Assistant Provost, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Ohio State University

The GMS Program is more than just a scholarship. GMS offers Gates Millennium Scholars with Academic Empowerment (ACE) services to encourage academic excellence; mentoring services for academic and personal development; and an online resource center that provides internship, fellowship and scholarship information.